The return of migrants and foreign buyers will boost demand for properties, even as signs point to the market returning to normality.

More of these buyers are making enquiries, inspections and bids at auctions or submitting offers across many suburbs, local Barry Plant agents said.

This comes at a time when listing numbers have risen and clearance rates have dipped slightly, as the market becomes more balanced between sellers and buyers.

In Bulleen, a recently arrived family from China paid $2.2 million for 1 Moresby Avenue after receiving approval to buy an established home.

The buyers wanted to live in Balwyn but settled for Bulleen instead as Balwyn properties are more expensive, Barry Plant Blackburn agent Casey Wang said.

The buyer paid well above the seller’s price guide to nab the property ahead of several other interested buyers.

After coming across the Bulleen listing, they liked the Tuscan style of the five-bedroom house and were prepared to pay above market expectations, Ms Wang added.

The buyer had to get Foreign Investment Review Board approval for the purchase and will also pay 8 per cent more in stamp duty. The house on a triangular-shaped block was scheduled to go to auction on March 12.

The sellers were ecstatic with the result, having paid $1.285 million for the property in 2013. The price of the home gained $915,000 in less than nine years.

Meanwhile, a family who recently migrated from Vietnam negotiated a post-auction purchase of 12A Oleander Street, Glen Waverley, on March 12.

The four-bedroom house on 350sq m sold above the seller’s $1.2-$1.32 million price hopes.

“Monash suburbs have traditionally been popular with migrants and foreign buyers, and we have been seeing more of them recently,” Barry Plant Glen Waverley agent Ryan Yan said.

To maximise the views and setting, a Tuesday twilight auction was held at 11 Reddington Terrace, Doncaster East, and a stunning result was achieved.

The five-bedroom house sold on March 8 for $1.935 million, which was the highest sale recorded by the Barry Plant Group for the week ending March 12.

“We wanted the auction to be held at sunset in the Milgate Estate location, and it turned out well with four bidders and a result that was $130,000 above the seller’s reserve,” Barry Plant Doncaster East auctioneer Todd Lucas said.

The Barry Plant Group had an 83 per cent clearance rate from 54 auctions that were reported, with 44 properties sold and nine passed in.

Among the top results was 25 Eastleigh Drive, Glen Waverley, which fetched $1.545 million - well above the seller’s reserve.

The 1950s-built house had four bidders and was sold to a local family as an investment, agent Ryan Yan said.